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How Much Game Does $15 Buy?

Maybe "let the cat out of the bag" isn't the right term. Is "let the cat halfway out" more appropriate? Arguably. EA just announced pricing for Battlefield 1943, DICE's downloadable multiplayer shooter. When can you expect to become $15 (or 1200 MS Points) poorer? June, if you're planning to play on Xbox Live or PlayStation Network. It won't be a simultaneous launch across console and PC, though. EA announced a September date for the Windows version.

$14.99 could also get you a child-size Batman costume.

If you missed last month's GDC preview, BF1943 revamps three classic Battlefield 1942 maps with DICE's Frostbite engine, which allows more environmental destructibility. It's fairly streamlined, too, offering three classes to match the three maps.

Sterling says: I'm still wary of BF1943 after a relatively underwhelming demo at GDC, so I initially shrugged off this news until I started reading user comments across the Internet. In between a few "you're paying $5 per map" arguments about the pricing, I read some fascinating entries from PC gamers who are angry about the long delay between versions. A few people claimed that EA's neglect of the PC audience is indicative of why they feel no sympathy toward the publisher's fight against piracy.

Piracy seems to be the hot-button topic again this week, between the Pirate Bay founders' legal loss and Sony blaming piracy for impacting Resistance Retribution's sales. But is this a simple cause-and-effect argument?